Contraceptive knowledge and attitudes of Austrian adolescents after mass media reports linking third-generation oral contraceptives with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism.

We performed a representative survey to determine the level of knowledge of 1,010 Austrian adolescents aged 14 to 24 years about selected facts relating to the recent massive news coverage of the increase in the risk of venous thromboembolism in users of third-generation oral contraceptives and to assess the contraceptive behavior of this population. The overall use rate of oral contraceptives and condoms had increased significantly between 1991 and 1996. Sixty-six percent of the adolescents surveyed stated not having heard or read any media reports on oral contraceptives. Only 8% of those who had knew that most reports focused on the pill as a possible cause of venous thromboembolism, whereas the majority of respondents indicated that the media conveyed doubts regarding the health safety of oral contraceptives in general. Nearly half of adolescents were unable to define what a thrombosis was. Thus, although the mass media play an important role in transmitting medical information, the dissemination of practical, accurate advice on the risks of a drug and competent patient counseling is reserved for the health care professionals.